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March 16 morning skate quotes: Darryl Sutter

On the message to any young player making his debut:
“Try not to sit on the bench.”

On whether young players have a tendency to do too much in their debuts:
“No, I don’t think so. We’ve all played our first game at some time, right? Go out, friggin’ work hard, try and friggin’ tramp on someone early. Try and shoot the puck. Try and skate. Try and pass it onto the stick.”

On whether Tyler Toffoli needs to be in a top-six role at this level:
“No. I mean, there’s not too many guys who step in and play in the top six, I don’t think. We’re trying to get some other guys going. I’m not worried about Tyler Toffoli…Guys don’t stay together very often. Other than Kopitar’s line, there’s nobody staying together. Clearly not. And when you say that, what’s a ‘top-six’? So does Florida have a top-six? They’re the worst team in the league. So if I get called up there, do I get to play on the top six?…On the good teams, what’s the difference? Even strength minutes on four lines are just about the very same. It’s just special teams, right?”

On whether Toffoli will see time on the power play:
“I don’t know. What we like best about him is he shoots the puck lots and he’s a good penalty killer. Historically he’s led wherever he’s played in shorthanded goals. He’s doing it again.”

On whether the ability to dictate line matchups gives a big home-ice advantage:
“It depends on teams. It’s not so much line matchups. It’s more and more defensemen, and then faceoff guys. It wasn’t a problem for us against San Jose. But we need our centermen – it’s the one area in experience that we can match up with, right? It’s the only area that we match up with them is down the middle, when you do Thornton, Marleau, Handzus and Gomez, right? It’s the one area that we can [match up] in terms of experience. So a big part of that is just that guy, like if it’s Thornton-Kopi, Stoll-Gomez, Richards/Carter-Marleau, Handzus-Fraser. So that’s more important. Hey, and Thornton’s good on faceoffs, right? Other night, Kopitar was very good and nobody else was. We chased the game a little.”

On the penalty kill:
“It was really good until the last game. Bad goal – goalie’s got to be a good penalty killer, and a failure to clear by a young defenseman. You guys have asked that a thousand times…not a thousand times, but every time they score a couple goals, you ask the same question. Putting guys in penalty killing situations they’re not used to, the goalie has to be a hell of a lot better penalty killer for you, and you’ve got to shoot pucks down the ice. The two goals they’ve scored – bad goal, Voynov. Shoot the puck down the ice, 200 feet. Shoot it at their defensemen – you just made a pass. You just got the second assist. They used to give three assists because defensemen would just rim it around, right? The defense would just rim it around the boards to their defense. They’d go around, D, D, shot. I got the third assist. That’s why they went back to two assists. [They] didn’t want to give it to the other team’s defenseman. The first option is not a rim. When I came here, that was the first option – rim the puck. We’re trying not to get them to rim pucks. It’s a bad option in today’s game.

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#6 | 6′ 3″ | 216 lb | Age: 27

Bio

Muzzin was drafted in 2007 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, before signing to the Kings in 2010. He has since become the first Woodstock, Ontario professional athlete to win a major sports trophy.VIEW JAKE MUZZIN POSTS

Anze Kopitar

#11 | 6′ 3″ | 224 lb | Age: 29

Bio

As the 11th overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Kopitar became the first Slovenian to play in the NHL. Kopitar has spent his entire NHL career with the Kings, and following the 2015–16 season, was named the Kings’ captain. Noted for both his offensive and defensive play, Kopitar was awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the NHL in 2016.

#8 | 6′ 1″ | 195 lb | Age: 26

Bio

Bio: Doughty is a Canadian defenceman who was selected second overall by the Kings in the 2008 Draft. Doughty made his NHL debut in 2008 as an 18-year-old and was named to the All-Rookie Team. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Kings, a two-time Olympic gold medallist with the Canadian national team, and a Norris Trophy finalist.

#73 | 6′ 1″ | 200 lb | Age: 24

Bio

Toffoli is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward, drafted by the Kings in the second round of the 2010 Draft. Toffoli scored his first career NHL goal in his second game in a 4–0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes in 2013. He was also named the 2012–13 AHL All-Rookie Team.VIEW TYLER TOFFOLI POSTS

Jeff Carter

#77 | 6′ 4″ | 215 lb | Age: 31

Bio

Carter began his hockey career playing in the Ontario Hockey League in Canada before joining the AHL and playing for the Philadelphia Flyers. He was then traded to the Colombus Blue jackets before joining the LA Kings in 2012, where he has since won two Stanley Cups with the Kings.

#32 | 6′ 1″ | 218 lb | Age: 30

Bio

Bio: Quick is the current goaltender for the LA Kings and was selected by Los Angeles at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Previously, Quick was a silver medalist with USA at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He’s won two Stanley Cup championships with the Kings, along with being the most recent goaltender to be awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.